This started as a cross stitching diary. I've always wanted to try out different embroidery techniques and have dabbled in Hardanger, goldwork, ribbon embroidery
and stumpwork. I am now enjoying learning crazy quilting and teaching myself dressmaking.

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Sunday, 29 January 2017

For my second Burda 2017 challenge I made dress 120 from September 2016 issue. I actually ended up making 2 of these dresses.
This is the photo from the magazine

It can also be done in a contrasting fabric for the lower front skirt, which is cut on the bias.

The first one was in this multi-coloured/green fabric from a Hospice shop

In this version the only change I made was to shorten the sleeves. I really like the dress. It was quick to sew up and is loose and comfortable for hot summer days. However I am not comfortable with the neckline on this, it is too low for me.

As I really liked the dress I wanted to make another version, this time I raised the back neckline by 1", bought in the shoulders by 1" and raised the front neck by 3". I also lengthened the skirt by 4 1/4". While the green one is OK to wear around the house, I am much happier with this one and will happily wear it to the shops, barbeques etc.

To show off that interesting seam I added piping.

I'd also like to make this in a rayon. I'm thinking contrasting fabrics as in the magazine green/blue version. I've seen a small polka dot fabric in smart dress fabrics that comes in 2 different colour fabrics greys/blues that would go well together, again with the piping detail. If I do this I'll need 2 metres of the main fabric and 1 metre of the contrast, minimum 115cm wide.

Also done are the 4th and 5th blocks of my quilt.

This is 6 blocks done, so the first row is completed. Here they are laid out on my bed.

Also made in machine embroidery was an in the hoop pincushion in the shape of a house. Cute

I made this a couple of months ago, but don't think I posted it. A phone case for my mobile

Monday, 16 January 2017

I've had some red crepe de chine with a poodle print in my stash for some time. I got it from the clearance table at Spotlight. The original intention was to make a blouse, but I don't really wear lightweight blouses any more, shirts yes, but not blouses.

I hadn't yet made anything from the April 2016 issue of BurdaStyle magazine so was looking through it and found this dress that I thought would look quite good.

I only just had enough for the dress, so couldn't do my usual lengthening and didn't have any extra for pattern matching. Here is mine.

The pattern description says it closes with a zip in the back, it actually has a button closure.

The dress has a band going down the front which is positioned so some of the underlap is showing. The neckline was too low for me, so I drafted a wedge shaped pattern to add to the underlap to raise the neckline 2 inches. This shows the wedge I added and the band with underlap.

It has a cute little "jacket" style cover on the front. Not sure what to call it. Here's a photo.

This fabric is super cool and it's a loose dress so perfect for Aucklands hot, humid summers.

Work is moving on with my daffodil quilts. I now have 4 12" blocks more or less completed and joined. I reckon I will need 48 in total. Here they are

Also on the go are a set of placemats, These are made in the hoop and are the Wedding Rings design from Sweet Pea. There are 4 blocks in each placemat. I've only made 1 so far, I want a set of 4. I made the binding too narrow which made it very hard to bind neatly. Unfortunately I made all the binding in one go, so won't have enough fabric to make more at a wider width - unless I buy some more fabric of course.

Wednesday, 4 January 2017

For 2017 I want to make my first full size quilt. It will be for my double bed and as daffodils are my favourite flower it will be embroidered with daffodils. After much debate I found this wonderful Nancy Zieman tutorial for a camouflaged 9 patch. She shows how to make it and in such an easy way. Rather than cutting out lots of individual squares, it is cleverly pieced.
I have bought white fabric and a blue batik, similar to the one in Nancy's video. In the white squares will be machine embroidered a daffodil pattern, with quilting around the sides. In the blue squares will be a floral redwork pattern, done in white.

Before starting I wanted to test the design so made up a couple of blocks. I used fabric on hand and made a fox winter wreath from Embroidery Library with quilting around the sides and on the smaller squares, and stippling, a free design from Kreative Kiwi on the large blue squares. The winter fox wreath was offered as part of the Happy Hour. If you make a purchase from Embroidery Library, the following month you get an email invitation to Happy hour, where there are designs on special. This fox was part of a design pattern that was free if you made a Happy Hour purchase and is not available on their website. The design pack is really pretty and I am blown away that they would only offer this as a one-off freebie and not sell it. So generous! It certainly encourages me to buy more from them - probably part of their master plan!

After making the blocks I wondered what to do with them. They were too pretty to waste. So I decided another tote bag would work. Here it is.

Front with winter fox wreath

Inside has 2 inside pockets, one ordrinary, the other has card slots.

The bag closes with an inset zipper.

back of bag, stippled.

2017 didn't start so well though. I have had my eye on this t-shirt from Burdastyle 2/2016 for months, even knew exactly what fabric I wanted.

Unfortunately my version didn't turn out as nicely.

The front is WAY too low, hence me wearing it over a dress. The photo is shot from below so not so obvious, but you can see my bra above the pink front,

The side sleeves are set way too low, again showing my bra.

Back view, until I saw this photo I hadn't realised how badly that is dragging.

Very disappointed. The one saving grace is that it has a front separating zipper, so I can wear it as a casual summer jacket. Oh well, the fabric was from the Hospice shop and was left over from a previous top, so hasn't cost me anything other than time.

So what happened in 2016?

My dressmaking consisted of 51 items. This was 24 tops (5 of these were for my mother), 7 dresses, 6 jackets or sweatshirts, 11 pants/culottes/shorts, and 3 skirts. The majority of these were Burdastyle (34 items). Other designers were 2 Colette Sorbetto tops, 6 KwikSew patterns, 1 New Look and 6 pairs of Style Arc's Barb pants. 1 designed by me(!) was a kimono top. I'm surprised how few skirts I made and how many pants were made. I think I need to start looking at more skirt patterns.

Other: I made 3 bags and learnt machine embroidery. I've yet to show all these as a lot were made for Xmas gifts which haven't been handed out yet. Others I've just forgotten to take photos of!

So what lies ahead for 2017?

As mentioned earlier, I want to make a quilt this year. This means there will be less time for dressmaking, but I'm still hoping to make around 3 items a month.

I have again joined the Burda Challenge for 2017 run on Pattern Review. You set your own challenge. For me this it to make 12 garments from magazines that haven't previously had any items made. To the end of 2016 magazines I own, but haven't made anything from are 2/2015 and April, August, September and October 2016. Of course there will be all the 2017 issues to come. I also need to keep in mind to keep my wardrobe casual, now I am not working there is very little need for a dressy wardrobe. I also want to only buy fabric when I have something specific to make with it and use up some of my stash. Of course sales and hospice bargains will derail this plan!

I want to continue my machine embroidery growth and try new things. There is so much to try - exciting times.